Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(63)

“I don’t have those. I left them at home.”

“She doesn’t-- … Krista, Marcus had Jasmine put them in your bag. Wear those instead. And hurry up, there is too much estrogen crossing my path, and it’s making me uncomfortable.”

Krista groaned and went back to her bag. Marcus was getting way overbearing now. She found the shoes he was talking about, but before she could drag them out, Sean asked, “Did you find them? Because if not, there are some silver ones.”

“Tell Martha I found them.”

Sean smiled and relayed the message. “He called you a homophobe.”

“Tell him Martha is my mom’s name. If I called him Mary, then that’s another story.”

“Marcus?...Yeah, Martha is her mom’s name. Be pissed when she calls you Mary.” Sean paused a second and laughed. “Alright man, see you in a bit. Oh and hey, how do the other girls look?...Hmmm. Alright, see you down there.”

“You can’t wait to check them out yourself?” Krista asked casually, pretending she didn’t have her heart in her black strappy sandals with the four-inch heel.

“I can wait for that, yes. I was wondering if you would be the belle of the ball.”

“Uh huh.”

“I wanted to be prepared for how many people turned and looked when we walked in.”

“Oh, you’re going to walk in with me this time?” Sarcasm.

Krista was trying to get her necklace fastened while trying not to be upset, when Sean stepped up behind her and took it out of her hands.

“Yes,” he said quietly as he slowly whisked her hair away from her neck. He let his fingers trail across her exposed skin, giving her shivers of delight. He clasped her necklace to fasten it, and then stepped a hair closer and looked at her reflection in the mirror over her shoulder.

“I’ve been trying to give you some space. I didn’t want everyone to think we were sleeping together. Instead I think I made you feel isolated.”

Krista turned around and looked up at him; into his vivid, fathomless green eyes. She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. How had she lived without this man? Why couldn’t she just make the leap again?

“So now you don’t care if they think we are sleeping together?” she asked softly, tilting her head up as she looked longingly at those full, kissable lips.

Sean broke out in a sweat.

“No. But more importantly, they realize we work well together, and they realize you aren’t just a pretty little puppet I control,” he murmured, his head dropping slightly toward hers.

“Not everyone realizes that,” she whispered.

“No, not everyone. Rome wasn’t built in a day…Krista, do you want to cross this line? I feel like you still aren’t sure.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. “I do want to, but…it’s complicated.”

Sean closed the gap between them, but instead of the lustful kiss filled with desire she was expecting, he gave her a light, supportive kiss. Then took a step back, his soft eyes still locked with hers.

“If you aren’t sure, I don’t want to push this. I will wait for your decision about us, good or bad.”

In frustration, Krista shook her head. “Look, Sean…I just don’t know that I can trust you for the long haul, you know? But maybe we can keep it physical and I’ll come around?”

The heat went out of Sean’s eyes. “I really messed up, didn’t I?”

“Can I lie and say ‘no’ so I can get some action?”

Sean gave her a sad smile. “No, Pet. It doesn’t work like that. I wish to God it did, but you’ll just shut down. We are all or nothing, both of us.”

Krista sighed, the wetness between her legs suddenly out of place. “Let’s get out of here. How is Marcus doing with your intel?”

“Better than good, actually. The guy’s current best friend is the biggest bitch in all the company. She also works for New York.”

“So…you’re in.”

Sean’s smile blotted out the sun. “I’m better than in. Snake in the grass.”

“Why do you hate New York so much?”

“I don’t hate them. But they are the big cats. They are the Titanic. I want to be the iceberg. Well, I mean, without death. I want to be the big gun on campus. Uh, also without death…”

“Yikes. Forget I asked.”

They were walking toward the bar for cocktail hour. There were a lot of guys standing around in their usual clusters, most with a beverage of some type in their hands. As they walked into the hollow area of the hotel, crossing the open space toward the happy hour-goers, Krista remembered what Sean and Marcus were talking about.

“What did Marcus say about the other girls? Am I overdressed?”

Sean had chosen to wear slacks and a loose fitting, long sleeved, button down shirt. She could barely make out his pecks or biceps, which usually stood out in anything. He still had a smooth, easy saunter as they drew closer, ever confident. More and more eyes turned their way at the progression.

“You aren’t overdressed, no. In fact, the young admins are revealing a lot more than you.”

“So why are people staring?” She tried to smile, but the amount of attention she was getting made her nervous. She was trying for carefree and fun loving because if the predators knew the amount of insecurity she was drowning in, they would go in for the kill.